The Ferrari 599XX—Under 7 minutes at the Nürburgring

The Ferrari 599XX, the track-only car that inspired the 599 GTO introduced today at the Beijing Auto Show, has officially lapped the full 20.832-km (12.945-mile) Nordschleife circuit in 6 minutes, 58.16 seconds. Ferrari claims that this makes the 599XX the first "production-derived sports car" to accomplish the feat, but that may draw ire (and a battle of semantics) with the Radical camp, whose SR8LM posted a 6:48 on the same configuration in 2009.

Designed for the track but not official competition use, the 599XX is a rolling laboratory for Ferrari, and some elements have been incorporated into the road-going 599 GTO, including the F1-style "wheel doughnuts" that both improve brake cooling and reduce aero drag. The 599XX's V-12 makes 700 bhp, and its rear-mounted transaxle can shift in just 60 milliseconds. It also employs Ferrari's High-Performance Dynamic Concept where electronic controls "govern the mechanical limits of the handling for maximum performance."

Additionally, the 599XX makes use of the Actiflow System that increases downforce and/or reduces drag on the fly, optimizing cornering speeds with selective aero tweaks. The car can generate total downforce approaching 1400 lb. at 186 mph.